"A life without stories would be no life at all."
Alexander McCall SmithThe Sherwood IMC is a well-planned, intricate dance of literary and technological pursuits that coexist with free-flowing artistic, industrious endeavors, allowing and encouraging learning. This year, we focused on integrating storytelling into the curriculum: "Kids as Tellers: Let the Celebrations Begin!" Our 13th Annual Storytelling Festival was the culmination of a whole year's worth of storytelling activities, telling, listening, and writing!
Maynard the Moose tells a Mother Moose tale.
Willy and the Sherwood Storytelling Club
Maynard Moose autographing The Uglified Ducky
During our 13th Annual Storytelling Festival, Storyteller Willy Claflinand Maynard the Moose told Mother Moose stories. Teachers and students laughed until their tummies hurt, because Willy’s stories were so funny! In the Festival, each 4th and 5th grader told a story. Seventeen 3rd graders from The Third Grade Storytelling Club also told stories. The number of stories and storytellers plus the number of attendees broke all of our previous records. Storytelling Clubs for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders met at lunchtime. Members shared stories they had written, heard or read. Students loved to use "audeince participation" in their stories. This year’s Storytelling Club had a record number of members! For the first time, a special Saturday Storytelling Workshop was held following the festival. Storytelling Club members and student storytellers from other schools were invited to work with Willy Claflin. After Willy and the students told stories, Willy gave a workshop on how to write a good story, including how to use puppets, experimenting with different voices and feelings in the stories. Our student storytellers have been invited to tell at the Highland Park Public Library again this summer at “Stories under the Stars.”
Candace with "Sloppy Copy" illustration for Westward Ho, Carlotta!
Candace Fleming and galley for Boxes for Katje
Candace and her Fourth Grade Writing Notebook and Blue Ribbon for her Story
Candace Fleming, author of picture books, chapter books, and biographies, spoke to all of our students, giving a totally different presentation for every grade level. Because Candace knew that we were focusing on storytelling in our curriculum this year, she told us the stories that had inspired her books. Now we know the true story behind Muncha, Muncha, Muncha!Candace could never get her garden to grow because bunnies kept eating her vegetables. Boxes for Katje was inspired by what her mother's family did to help needy children in Holland after World War II. The students were amazed when they saw the stacks of paper that showed copy after copy that were sent to her editor, only to be sent back to her with more editing suggestions. They were also impressed that she has had 19 books published! Candace told us that she had always been a storyteller. People always thought she was telling the truth because she was such a good storyteller! Candace told us that she just loved telling good stories and seeing how her listeners reacted, even when she was a preschooler!
Throughout the year, the IMC hosted novel studies for 5th graders: A Wrinkle In Time, War Comes to Willy Freeman, and The Cay. During novel studies, students told stories that they wrote from a character's point of view. For Willy Freeman, a cow told how unfair it was that she had been killed by a soldier. A Science Fiction Unit involved watching clips from old science fiction movies that illustrated the elements of science fiction. Lunchtime Book Clubs for Fantasy, Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Mysterious Benedict Society were fun for fourth and fifth graders. Battle of the Books had 60 members reading books and answering questions. Two of our fifth graders read ALL 50 books! Congratulations!
Fourth graders researched artists and regions of the United States, telling regional stories and tall tales. Learning about the Dewey Decimal system helped them locate nonfiction books for their research! Third graders researched Chicago and the Solar System and practiced using Destiny, our online library catalog. They told their own stories of Chicago in a PodCast. In the folklore unit, they learned stories from many different cultures.
Second graders enjoyed hearing picture books and discovered favorite characters in chapter books. They researched ocean animals and processes that turn natural materials into a product that our society needs, such as bridges or ice cream. They made up an "Who Am I?" story and had students guess which ocean animal they were. They learned location skills and made bibliographies. They retold tales of Aesop, wrote and told their own fables and Cinderella versions, and read and told stories of tricksters.
First Grade Book Awards
First graders imagined how wonderful it would feel to receive a book award. They heard and read books that won Caldecott, Pura Belpré, Dr. Seuss, and the Monarch Award. They designed a medal for a favorite picture book, naming their award, deciding which author, illustrator, or book should get the award. First graders retold the stories of books that received their award, and paper plates became coveted medals. Kindergarten students entered the magical world of picture books and made friends with picture book characters. After hearing a picture book, children told stories from their own lives. For example, after reading Baghead, they told funny haircutting stories. They retold favorite folktales, using puppets or plastic animals to retell their stories. Kindergarten through second graders voted for their favorite books which had been nominated for the Monarch Award. For the fifth year in a row, the book that Sherwood children chose was also the state winner! This year’s Illinois winner was Cool Motorcycle Dude. The children loved the story, and we explored how the author used elements of well-known folktales to tell a very modern, very funny new story.
What a year this has been! I’d like to end this year’s summary with a personal note. After 17 years of teaching at Sherwood, and 5 years at Edgewood before that, this will be my last year in the district. I’ll be retiring at the end of this school year, but the students I’ve had and the families I’ve met and my colleagues will always be in my heart. My advice to children and adults alike is “Keep reading, keep learning, keep telling stories, and don’t be afraid of new adventures.” I will miss you all more than I could ever tell you.
Respectfully submitted,
Darlene J. Neumann, Educator and Storyteller
Sherwood Instructional Media Center Director "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)
Sherwood School IMC
"A life without stories would be no life at all."Alexander McCall SmithThe Sherwood IMC is a well-planned, intricate dance of literary and technological pursuits that coexist with free-flowing artistic, industrious endeavors, allowing and encouraging learning. This year, we focused on integrating storytelling into the curriculum: "Kids as Tellers: Let the Celebrations Begin!" Our 13th Annual Storytelling Festival was the culmination of a whole year's worth of storytelling activities, telling, listening, and writing!
Storytelling Clubs for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders met at lunchtime. Members shared stories they had written, heard or read. Students loved to use "audeince participation" in their stories. This year’s Storytelling Club had a record number of members! For the first time, a special Saturday Storytelling Workshop was held following the festival. Storytelling Club members and student storytellers from other schools were invited to work with Willy Claflin. After Willy and the students told stories, Willy gave a workshop on how to write a good story, including how to use puppets, experimenting with different voices and feelings in the stories. Our student storytellers have been invited to tell at the Highland Park Public Library again this summer at “Stories under the Stars.”
Throughout the year, the IMC hosted novel studies for 5th graders: A Wrinkle In Time, War Comes to Willy Freeman, and The Cay. During novel studies, students told stories that they wrote from a character's point of view. For Willy Freeman, a cow told how unfair it was that she had been killed by a soldier. A Science Fiction Unit involved watching clips from old science fiction movies that illustrated the elements of science fiction. Lunchtime Book Clubs for Fantasy, Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Mysterious Benedict Society were fun for fourth and fifth graders. Battle of the Books had 60 members reading books and answering questions. Two of our fifth graders read ALL 50 books! Congratulations!
Fourth graders researched artists and regions of the United States, telling regional stories and tall tales. Learning about the Dewey Decimal system helped them locate nonfiction books for their research! Third graders researched Chicago and the Solar System and practiced using Destiny, our online library catalog. They told their own stories of Chicago in a PodCast. In the folklore unit, they learned stories from many different cultures.
Second graders enjoyed hearing picture books and discovered favorite characters in chapter books. They researched ocean animals and processes that turn natural materials into a product that our society needs, such as bridges or ice cream. They made up an "Who Am I?" story and had students guess which ocean animal they were. They learned location skills and made bibliographies. They retold tales of Aesop, wrote and told their own fables and Cinderella versions, and read and told stories of tricksters.
Kindergarten students entered the magical world of picture books and made friends with picture book characters. After hearing a picture book, children told stories from their own lives. For example, after reading Baghead, they told funny haircutting stories. They retold favorite folktales, using puppets or plastic animals to retell their stories.
Kindergarten through second graders voted for their favorite books which had been nominated for the Monarch Award. For the fifth year in a row, the book that Sherwood children chose was also the state winner! This year’s Illinois winner was Cool Motorcycle Dude. The children loved the story, and we explored how the author used elements of well-known folktales to tell a very modern, very funny new story.
What a year this has been! I’d like to end this year’s summary with a personal note. After 17 years of teaching at Sherwood, and 5 years at Edgewood before that, this will be my last year in the district. I’ll be retiring at the end of this school year, but the students I’ve had and the families I’ve met and my colleagues will always be in my heart. My advice to children and adults alike is “Keep reading, keep learning, keep telling stories, and don’t be afraid of new adventures.” I will miss you all more than I could ever tell you.
Darlene J. Neumann, Educator and Storyteller
Sherwood Instructional Media Center Director
"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library."
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)